


Dust and Ash

by happydaygirl



Category: Star Trek: Enterprise
Genre: hurt!trip, protective!archer, protective!malcolm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-27
Updated: 2014-08-10
Packaged: 2018-02-06 11:32:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1856533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happydaygirl/pseuds/happydaygirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After an away mission to a planet goes a little awry as a long dormant volcano erupts unexpectedly, Trip and Archer go back to try and help the survivors...only there is no one to help. No bodies, no signs of struggle, just a ghost town. As they continue looking, they're captured and held hostage by some inhabitants who are convinced that they somehow had something to do with the devastation the volcano unleashed.....will they make it out alive?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The Shuttlepod landed with a thump, skidding along the muddy ground on the planet- Trip almost lost his balance but managed to stay steady, opening the door as soon as it was safe to do so. Captain Archer turned off the controls and turned round in his seat. ‘Now remember what we’re here to do?’ he asked lightly, standing up himself and walking to the door. It was always good to go over a plan, no matter how simple.  
‘Aye, Sir- pick up some residue from that volcano, and try and find survivors.’ Trip answered in a sombre voice, nodding his head.  
‘Good- we shouldn’t need to use any breathing apparatus….the atmosphere is good enough to breathe normally.’ He replied- the wind levels of the planet meant that the ash cloud formed from the erupting volcano was quickly neutralised and wiped from ground level.  
‘Ok Cap’n.’ Trip muttered, stepping outside the Pod and looking around.  
Two days before, they had come onto the planet face to look at the huge, beautifully carved cliffs- some had been carved to show the inhabitant’s history, another looked like a calendar, and another that Hoshi had said was their Holy Scriptures. Just before they had a chance to take a closer look, however, the volcano had erupted with more force than was expected, leaving them with no choice but to abandon the mission and get back up to Enterprise.  
They hadn’t even had a chance to meet the locals, something that Archer had been very eager to do. Not much was written about their species, even in the Vulcan Database, and he was excited to talk with these people, to get to know them a little better.  
The two men stepped forwards- Archer breathed in deeply, scrunching his nose up at the smell. ‘A little sulphur in the air,’ he noted, shrugging. ‘Shouldn’t be too much of a problem.’  
‘What do you spose’ happened to the locals? Did they die?’ Trip asked as they walked along.  
‘I don’t know.’ The Captain replied. ‘The volcano had long been dormant, as far as T’Pol could tell from the scanner…..they must have known about its power, or at least should have been even a little prepared for it.’  
Trip nodded, sighing under his breath. He hoped that they found someone- hopefully not all of them were dead. ‘How many inhabitants were on this planet?’  
‘Oh, at least three thousand, maybe more.’ The Captain sighed, shaking his head a little. He caught the look on the face of his engineer and friend- a fleeting panicked look, coupled with concern. ‘Don’t worry; I’m sure we’ll find someone.’ He reassured him, even though they couldn’t see any living thing in range; the waves of chemicals and dust from the erupting volcano had rendered their bio scanner obsolete for a few hours until it cleared- they would just have to hunt out survivors the old fashioned way.  
‘Yeah….hope you’re right….’ Trip muttered as they continued walking. The planet was- or used to be- full of luscious green vegetation and crops. But now all that was left was a sludge of ash and cooling lava.  
The ground still sizzled a bit as they walked through the debris; they were heading towards what looked like a settlement of tin cottages and buildings. That was as good a place to start as any.  
‘T’Pol and Malcolm will monitor the air levels from Enterprise, then come down and take their own scans and things from the planet too,’ Archer explained as they got closer to the batch of huts.  
‘Let’s hope they find more than we do.’ Trip replied, smiling hopefully up at the sky.  
Xxxxx

Back up on Enterprise, Malcolm was peering into his scanner on his desk. ‘Any sign of life, Lieutenant?’ T’Pol asked him from her spot in the Captain’s chair.  
Malcolm shook his head, eyebrows knitted together. ‘Not apart from the Captain’s and Commander Tucker. It looks like that volcano obliterated the entire planet.’  
‘There must be something down there!’ cried Hoshi from her own desk. ‘Three thousand inhabitants….some of them must have survived.’  
‘Not according to these scans.’ Malcolm muttered, sitting back in his chair. ‘Perhaps they went underground?’ he ventured.  
‘Perhaps.’ T’Pol conceded, nodding her head. ‘We must keep looking; I’ll keep the Captain updated- Mr Reed, make sure that the air levels on the planet stay at a safe level.’  
‘Will do.’ Malcolm nodded, turning back to his scanner.

Xxxxxxx

The ground was slick with recently melted soil, a large surface of congealing lava spread across the road leading to the settlement. Trip picked his way carefully, trying to avoid the stickiness. They hadn’t so far seen any bodies or injured inhabitants; he just hoped they weren’t buried under the great grey folds of lava all around them. Archer looked around at the group of huts as they approached- it was as silent as a ghost town. The smell of acrid burning was still in the air.  
Windows were boarded up, doors locked tight shut. Nothing moved around the huts.  
‘This don’t feel right….’ Trip muttered, hand pressing against his weapon. The fact that there weren’t any bodies to find just didn’t sit right with him- something should be here, he thought to himself.  
‘Let’s just check through these huts,’ replied Archer, hand venturing to his own holster. ‘Then we can radio back to T’Pol, tell her we haven’t seen anything. If we can’t find survivors there isn’t much we can do.’ He said, shrugging.  
‘Aye.’ Trip nodded, and together they started going through each hut in turn, forcing open the boarded windows and peering inside. Nothing. Just empty rooms and silence.  
With each hut searched Trip started to get more and more nervous. ‘I think we should go,’ he eventually said, frowning.  
‘Alright, don’t panic Trip.’ Archer laid a hand on the other man’s shoulder to calm him. Trip gave him a short look. ‘I’m not panicking, sir…..it’s just….it don’t feel right, y’know what I mean?’ he said again. ‘I’m fine, Dad…’ he added, grinning cheekily at his friend.  
‘We’re on a mission, remember.’ Archer reminded him with a smile, before pretending to clap him on the side of his head.  
‘I still don’t like the idea that no one is here….’ Trip cleared his throat, getting back to business.  
‘Listen, j-‘ Archer’s words were halted by the sound of rustling outside, before the sound of someone running away could be heard loud and clear in the hut.  
‘Outside.’ The Captain ordered, taking his gun out of its holster. ‘Set to stun.’  
The two men darted outside, looking around urgently. Nothing. ‘There was definitely someone here!’ Trip cried, gun out and ready.  
‘Let’s split up- you take that direction and I’ll double back and search the back area.’ Archer instructed. ‘Five minutes, then we meet back here, got it?’ he added, getting a nod from his engineer in reply.  
Trip continued walking forwards as The Captain walked back around the sides of the huts- he looked around everywhere, but it seemed that whatever had made the noise before had bolted. Nothing stirred at all. Suddenly, he heard a cry to his left- gingerly walking towards the noise he saw what looked like a small figure….a little girl. Well, whatever the species was; she was purple with what looked like small scales all over its-or her- face. It definitely looked like a little girl, dressed in a singed blue dress, clutching a small doll made of cloth.  
‘You ok?’ Trip whispered, immediately holstering his weapon and stepping closer- it looked like this girl was the only survivor of the volcano. The girl said nothing, merely looked at him with huge yellow eyes.  
He reached out a hand, palm out, to show her he was safe. ‘C’mere darlin’, I aint’ gonna hurt you…’ he whispered, stepping closer. The girl started moving backwards, shaking her head.  
‘No, don’t go! I’m here to help….I can get you to a Doctor.’ Trip cried. ‘…Doctor?’ he repeated again, making sure she understood. ‘Are you hurt?’  
The girl didn’t reply. She probably didn’t understand a word he was saying, Trip thought, shaking his head. The girl was still backing up; she was stood between two huts, the high walls creating a shadow across them both.  
Suddenly, Trip got the feeling that they weren’t alone. He turned, but not quickly enough- a strong punch floored him, and as he lay on the ground, dazed, a foot was levelled at his chest. He yelped as he was flung to the dirt again, grimacing in pain.  
Scrambling up, hand darting for his weapon, another punch caught him on the side of the head, sending him spinning onto the metal wall of the cave. He gave a loud cry as another cut knocked his head sideways, the sound joining the reverberation noises of the metal wall. He fell to his knees, putting his palms out as he felt warm blood trickle from his nose. ‘Please…’ be begged, squinting into the sunlight at his attacker. The broad shadow didn’t move or say anything, merely looked down at him.  
The girl darted behind the shadow, eyes wider than ever. Trip didn’t know what to do- suddenly, the man darted forwards again, fist raised high. The blow caught him right in the temple, sending him sprawling sideways, unconscious, onto the dirt.

Xxxxxxxxxx  
The sounds of crashing metal made Jon look up immediately. ‘Trip?’ he called into the radio, not waiting for a reply as he headed in the direction of the sound. A cry of pain made him run faster, his gun ready in his palm as he sprinted toward the sound- turning the corner into what looked like an alleyway between the huts he spotted a crouched figure, it’s face obscured- it had what looked like a huge hump on its back as it tried to walk away. No….not a hump…..it was-  
‘HEY!’ Archer called, levelling his gun at the figure as his eyes adjusted to the shadows- Trip was on the figure’s back, slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.  
He walked forwards, hands steady. ‘We’re not here to hurt you!’ he called, eyes steely. ‘We’re here to help you!’  
The figure paid no notice, instead it tried to continue walking, readjusting its hold on his engineer.  
‘Stop!’ Archer bellowed, walking quickly forwards. ‘My name is Jonathan Archer, I’m the captain of the Starship Enterprise….let us help you!’ he cried, panic rising in his chest- he pushed it down. He had to maintain control.  
‘Help us!?’ The creature suddenly spoke perfect English, its purple face turning to him with scorn. ‘You’ve brought this down on us and now you’re expecting us to let you help?’  
‘I- I don’t understand…please, give me back my officer and we can explain…’  
‘No. I don’t know what we did to anger you, but we won’t stand for it!’ the figure cried, before raising its own arm- Trip’s gun was in its hand.  
Eyes wide, Jon had barely a second to react- the jet missed him by an inch as he rolled in the dirt, the second grazed his shoulder as he knelt, firing off a return shot. The third, however, met its mark- the Captain keeled forwards with a groan, face hitting the dirt with a dull thud.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry this is late, please forgive me!

Back up on Enterprise, Malcolm’s eyes widened as he looked down at his scanner. ‘There’s another two bio signs….’ He muttered urgently, toggling with his equipment to get a better reading.   
T’Pol was looking at her own scanner. ‘What species?’ she fired off the question with a harsh voice.  
‘I’m just looking through the database; we haven’t come across it before.’ Malcolm replied, eyes scanning the screen. ‘Slareen....they appear to be Slareen.’  
‘Slareen?’ T’Pol said, walking towards him. ‘What information do we have on them?’  
‘Not much- they appear to speak English though….they must be a technological planet then, with abilities to find and learn other languages, before the volcano erupted and destroyed half their planet, that is.’  
‘If they are so advanced why didn’t they prepare for the obviously incoming natural disaster?’ T’Pol question, eyebrow arched.   
Malcolm sighed, shaking his head. ‘I don’t know.’ He replied, flummoxed.  
‘We must hope they are not hostile- Ensign Mayweather, bring us into further into orbit. Mr Reed, have Shuttlepod two on standby and ready to launch.’ T’Pol ordered, before standing at the centre of the bridge.  
‘Right away.’ Malcolm nodded, walking off the Bridge to the landing bay.  
‘And call the Captain; he may be able to tell us what is going on.’  
‘Understood.’  
Xxxxxxx

Trip groaned as he opened his eyes. He lifted his head a couple of inches off the ground, before immediately wishing he hadn’t; lights erupted in the corner of his eyes and he sank down, eyes squeezed shut.  
He felt a hand suddenly dart onto his shoulder and he stiffened up, expecting another blow- ‘Trip, it’s me, you’re ok….’ Archer’s voice washed over him like water.   
‘Captain?’ he moaned, chancing another glance upwards- his friend’s face wafted into view.   
‘It’s me Trip, how do you feel?’  
‘Peachy….absolutely peachy….’ Trip replied, tentatively raising his hand to touch his face. He felt dry blood on his nose, a congealing stream running toward his chin. His eye felt swollen and his jaw hurt a bit, but apart from that he was as right as rain.  
‘What happened?’ he asked, before attempting to sit up- he moaned as he moved his head, but managed to sit with his back against a wall.  
‘Not sure, but I think we’re in some sort of prison now….’ Archer replied.  
‘Huh?’ Trip looked around properly at his surroundings. The room they were in was a brown colour, with no furnishings or anything- a small window was high up on the centre wall, with only two thin sleeping mats on the floor.  
His mind flashed back to before he got knocked out. ‘The girl.’ He muttered, eyes wide. ‘What happened to the little girl?’  
‘Girl?’ Jon muttered, frowning. ‘I didn’t see a little girl, Trip. All I saw was you being taken off by some shadowed figure, before we had a little fire fight and we ended up here.’  
‘But she looked so scared….we have to find her…..’ Trip tried to stand, but Jon pulled him back, concern in his eyes. ‘Stay still for a moment, you’ve just woken up- I wanna make sure you don’t have a concussion or anything before we start moving….’  
‘No, I’m fine Sir, really,’ Trip tried to reassure him, even as he was feeling dizzy sitting back down on the floor.   
‘Fine my ass….’ Archer muttered, putting a hand on the engineer’s knee to stop him from moving.  
He sighed, mind racing. ‘The figure that attacked us…was blaming us for the volcano erupting,’ he explained, trying to make sense of it all. ‘He was saying that they must have angered us, but they didn’t know how….’  
‘What does it matter? They’re crazy!’ Trip exclaimed, shaking his head before wincing.  
‘It matters because now we’re stuck in a prison cell with no idea why we’re here.’ Archer replied, trying not to let Trip’s gung-ho attitude irritate him. Trip fell silent, massaging his chest.  
They sat in silence for a few moments, each lost in their own world. ‘Did you try the radio?’ Trip asked, voice hopeful.   
Archer snorted, shaking his head. ‘Now why didn’t I think of that?’ he muttered sarcastically, turning to Trip with a smile. ‘They took them from us when they brought us in.’  
‘Oh, right.’ Trip muttered, shaking his head. ‘Course…’   
Archer sighed and moved to stand up, smoothing down his shirt from the dust. He was just about to say something when the door to their cell banged open, a cloud of dust erupting against the wall as it smashed into the stone.  
Two figures were in the doorway, each armed with a large gun in their arms. Archer stood up, standing to cover Trip slightly as the other man struggled to get up; he held out an arm to allow him to lever himself up to a standing position- he could tell by Trip’s face that his head was swimming.  
The figures waited until they were ready, before one nodded his head to a direction out of the door. ‘Come with us.’ They muttered roughly, before stepping forwards- Archer put an arm out to stop them from yanking Trip out of the room; Trip was steadier on his feet now, but he wanted to make sure that he wasn’t hurt anymore. The guard growled but said nothing, stepping backwards to allow the two men to pass.  
The corridor that they found themselves in led them down a dark and dingy passageway, a pungent, earthy smell filled their noses as they went. It seemed like they were underground now- the little window at the top of their cell was obviously only a snapshot of the outside world.  
The two guards flanked them as they walked, each keeping pace with one of the men- Trip scuffled his feet a little bit, and every now and then he would groan and touch his head where it had connected with the metal wall. Archer knew he probably had some form of concussion; he just hoped it wasn’t too serious- Dr Phlox would get him fixed in a heartbeat, but for now they were on their own…he just hoped Enterprise wasn’t too far away.  
The corridor ended with a large wooden door, the black handle the size and shape of a fist. The first guard knocked on the door and stepped back- a noise that sounded like a gong broke through the wooden door, presumably meaning that they could enter. The second guard opened the door and pushed the two of them inside; Archer took a good look around as they entered the room- well, he would’ve if a heavy, dark sack hadn’t been forced over his head as they crossed the threshold. The two guards grabbed each men, pinning their arms to their sides as they struggled.  
A startled cry from his side confirmed to him that Trip had been given the same treatment.   
‘What’s goin’ on?!’ the younger man demanded, his voice shielded a bit by the sack, and Archer was just about to give his own angry sentiment when he heard a muffled cry and the sound of dispersed air- it didn’t take long for him to figure that his engineer had just been punched in the gut.  
‘Leave him alone!’ he shouted, blindly trying to reach for Trip to his side- he choked out a yelp of his own as he felt a fist connect with one of his ribs. He sunk to his knees briefly, the wind knocked out of him.  
‘Leave them be- I at least want them to be conscious when I talk to them!’ a voice rang out, a voice Archer didn’t recognise. He stood up gingerly- ‘Who am I talking to?’ he barked, not caring about the repercussions. ‘Take these off and we can talk.’  
‘They stay on. We don’t care to look upon the faces of our destroyers.’ The voice chimed, dark and smooth.  
‘Destroyers?’ Archer heard Trip echo. ‘We didn’t do anything wrong!’  
‘Silence!’ the voice cried, before Archer heard another blow land on his friend, coupled with a cry of pain.  
‘Stop it! Don’t you lay one more finger on him!’ he growled, breathing heavily.  
‘Or what?’ a cold voice sneered right into his ear.   
‘….Or you’ll have to deal with me!’ With that, Archer launched his head backwards, feeling with a muffled pain as it slammed into the face of his captor- he wrenched his arms forwards to free them, before yanking off the sack and confronting the room. The guard he had just incapacitated was up already, staggering towards him- Archer punched him square in the jaw before following it up with a kick in his chest; the guard flew backwards, crashing into the wall where he lay still.  
He was just about to turn when- ‘Stop this now- or he dies!’ the voice was high now, but even more dangerous. Silently, Archer finished turning, eyes clocking onto the only other man in the room that mattered.  
Somehow Trip’s sack had come off in the struggle, but it didn’t really matter- his eyes were wide, a bruise flourishing around the left socket. Blood dripped from a fresh cut to his lip, and he was breathing heavily. A phaser gun was also pressed to his temple, held by the only other unmasked figure in the room. It’s purple, scaly skin almost shone in the light- the red eyes were bright, almost dancing in their malevolence. It pressed the gun harder into his engineer’s head, causing him to visibly wince.  
‘What do you want with us?’ Archer asked in a forced-calm voice. ‘Why did you attack us?’  
‘Why couldn’t you just leave us be?! We spent years- centuries¬- making sure that this didn’t happen….and then, when we thought that we were safe….’  
‘I don’t understand what you’re talking about!’ Archer replied, eyes darting from the creature’s to Trip.  
‘Yes you do! The volcano! You sent it down on us, and I want to know why!’ the figure shouted, mouth curled in anger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, next chapter will be up soon! xx


End file.
